By RUTH ANN INGRAHAM, guest columnist
Multi-flora rose, garlic mustard, kudzu, purple loosestrife and Asian bush honeysuckle are plant names all too familiar for some of us. Potentially, there’s a “new kid on the block,” another non-native invasive species with an intriguing name: mile-a-minute vine.
Though prevalent in northeastern states, a small stand of this vine was spotted and eradicated in Monroe County. (This was the first report of the vine’s existence in Indiana.) Though now gone from that location in our neighboring county, it’s presumed that the vine, possibly planted deliberately for its attractive blue fruits, produced berries that were eaten and dispersed by birds.
So, it’s time we learn about this plant. Should it sprout on our land, we will know to eradicate it before it grows out of control.
Another common name for the vine is Asiatic tearthumb (Polygonum perfoliatum). This plant accidentally entered the United States in the 1930s as a contaminant of nursery stock. Known to grow 6 inches a day and 25 feet in a season, you can imagine why it should be stopped early.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Photos with this column show the curved barbs that line the stems and even the mid-vein of the nearly equilaterally triangular leaves. These hooks make it easy for the vine to latch onto surrounding vegetation and grow exuberantly, but make it hard for humans to get a grip on it — literally.
Ron Rathfon, Extension forester at Purdue University, writes in a Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management fact sheet that because of the very real threat of spreading down the Ohio River or being inadvertently introduced into the state by human activity, mile-a-minute vine is listed as a high-priority species for prevention, early detection and rapid response efforts.
So, put a speed limit on the mile-a-minute vine, as Consumer Reports advises. CR suggests ways to eliminate this noxious vine in its early stage — either manually or with herbicides — and warns that even when the vine is gone, our work is not done. As the seeds can remain viable in the ground for five years, we would need to do preventive management for a few seasons, not unlike the control plan for many other invasive plants.
Go to mamflyer_mass.pdf posted by the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture for more information. And if you think you have mile-a-minute vine on your property, please contact us at bcnwp.org/contact. It’s important that we and other plant experts in the state know.
Learn how to specifically protect your Brown County property from this and other invasive species. Visit the Brown County Native Woodlands Project website, bcnwp.org. Participate in activities. Join BCNWP and enjoy special member events, such as the next one on Saturday, July 21. Memberships are $10 for individuals and $15 for families and are simple to obtain through the website.
Save Saturday, Sept. 8 for the 12th annual Nature Daze, an all-day, free event for adults and children at Camp Rancho Framasa. Check the website in July for details and sign up.
Ruth Ann Ingraham is a board member of the Brown County Native Woodlands Project.
